Trap.



A. D. SHAEPFER.

TRAP.

APPLICATION FILED D110. 4=, 1911.

Patented Oct. 15, 1912.

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A. D. SHAEPFBBJ.

TRAP.

APPLICATION FILED DEG. 4, 1911.

1,041,520. Patented 001;. 15, 1912.

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ABSALOLI D. SHAEFFER, OF KI'ITANNING, PENNSYLVANIA.

TRAP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 4, 1911. Serial No. 663,657.

Patented Get. 15, 1912.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ABsALoM D. SHAEF- rnn, a citizen of the UnitedStates of Amer: ica, residing at Kittanning, in the county of Armstrongand State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain. new and useful Improvements in Traps, of which the following 1s a specification, referencebeing bad therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to traps, and the object of my invention is toprovide a trap for catching and exterminating rats and other rodents, byproviding a receptacle with a novel trap door and arranging electricallycharged coils of wire within the trap for electrocuting the animalspreclpitated therein.

My invention aims to provide a trap of the above type that can be safelyused in connection with large wharfs, warehouses and other buildingsinfested with rats, the

trap being designed whereby the rodents will be immediately electrocutedand their bodies concealed. It is constructed whereby it can be safelyhandled and installed without danger to other animals than those forwhich it is designed.

The invention will be hereinafter specifically described and thenclaimed, and reference will now be had to the drawings, wherein likenumerals of reference designate corresponding parts throughout theseveral views, in which Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectionalview of the trap, Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same, Fig. 3 is ahorizontal sectional view of the trap, and Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic viewof the wiring of the trap.

A trap in accordance with this invention comprises a bottom plate 1, arear wall 2, a front wall 3 and side walls 4. The rear wall 2 is of agreater height than the walls 3 and 4 and the front wall 3 is providedwith a doorway 5 for a hinged door 6, said door being hinged to swingoutwardly and when in a closed position the door is held by a latch 7,and a keeper 8 or any other suitable fastening means.

The side walls 4 have the upper edges thereof inclined, as at 10 andsaid side walls are connected by a vertical partition 11 and ahorizontal partition 12, these partitions providing a batterycompartment 13. The battery compartment 13 is closed by a lid 14,hinged, as at 15 to the upper edge of the partition 11, said lid restingupon the inclined edges of the walls 4 and serving functionally as agang plank leading to the top of the trap. The walls 4, adjacent to thepartition 11, have the upper edges thereof connected by a transverse bar16 and normally resting upon this bar is the forward edge of a tiltabledoor 17, said door having depending straps 18 loosely embracing atransverse rod 19, carried by the walls 4.

The tiltable door is arranged whereby the rear edge thereof will tiltunder the weight of a rodents body, and in order to attract a rodent tothe rear edge of said door, the rear wall 2 is provided with a baitholder 20 upon which can be mounted a suitable bait, (not shown). Theunderneath side of the tiltable door, adjacent to the bar 16, isprovided with an eye 9 and connected to said eye is a small weight 9*.This weight retains the tiltable door 17 normally in a horizontal closedposition, and permits of theE1 door tilting by the weight of a rodents bo y.

Arranged in the trap is an inclined platform 21 preferably made of woodor other insulation material, the platform extending from a point abovethe lower edge of the rear wall 2 to a point below the lower edge of thepartition 11. When the platform 21 is made of metal, said platform canbe covered with a sheet of insulation material 22, as fiber. Arrangedupon the platform 21 are two fiat coils of wire 23, said coils beingsecured thereto by staples 24 or other fasten ng means. The convolutionsof the coils are arranged in parallelism and close together, the end ofone coil being connected to the pole of a suitable source of electricalenergy 25 and the end of the other coil to the other pole of the sourceof electrical energy, thereby providing an open circuit A trapcomprising a bottom plate, a rear wall, a front wall of a less heightthan said rear wall and having a doorway formed therein, a hinged doornormally closing said doorway, side walls carried by said bot-tom plateand having the forward upper edges thereof inclined, a verticalpartition connecting said side walls, a horizontal partition connectingsaid side walls and cooperating with said vertical partition inproviding a battery compartment, a lid hinged to the upper edge of saidvertical partition and adapted to rest upon the inclined edges of saidside walls and close said battery compartment, a tiltable door pivotallymounted between the upper edges of said side walls, a bar connectingsaid side walls and normally supporting said door in a horizontalposition, an inclined platform arranged in said trap and extending fromsaid rear wall to a point below said vertical partition, wire electrodesarranged upon said platform and in circuit with the source of electricalenergy located in said battery compartment, said electrodes eachembodying a wire extending in open loop formation in the direction ofinclination of the platform and having its free end secured to anadjacent loop, said ends being adjacent to each other substantiallycentral of the platform, the wireof the electrode lying between suchfree end and the side of the trap.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of twowitnesses.

ABSALOM D. SHAEFFER. Witnesses:

SAMUEL H. RICHARDSON, JAMES BAKER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

